Our kind of Christmas
by agents-of-ships
Summary: Clint and Natasha celebrate Christmas. Rated for mild suggestive content.


**Author's Note: This is for wintercaptain, from Wattpad. I wrote this a while back, but I thought I'd post it here too.**

Natasha Romanoff sat, crossed-legged, on the wood floor of Clint Barton's apartment. He sat across from her, grinning his stupid grin with a candy cane hanging out of his mouth.

"I got us sweaters," he said, and handed her his candy cane. "Hold this." He walked out of the room.

Natasha smiled. It was Christmas Eve, and it was nice. Sure, it wasn't anything big. It was just the two of them, some wine, candy canes, and a mini Christmas tree. It was special, though. Neither Clint nor Natasha had had great childhoods, so Christmases had never been fun then. Even now, when they had some people to hang out with, crime didn't take a break on Christmas, so S.H.I.E.L.D. missions took up most of the holiday time. But not this year. For once, they could celebrate the holidays with someone they cared about. And while that may have been normal for someone else, it was unfamiliar to them. But it was nice. Very nice.

Clint walked back into the room, carrying two sweaters.

"Okay, so first, here's mine," he said, and held up a sweater. The sweater was red, with snowflakes and snowmen on it. "And here's yours." The sweater meant for her was green, it had Christmas trees and gingerbread on it, and it was completely dorky. She handed him back his candy cane, which he promptly put in his mouth.

"I love it," she said, and she meant it. Clint grinned. His grins were so infectious, Natasha couldn't help but smile.

"Put it on," he urged. He pulled off his shirt, and switched to the sweater. He was still wearing a thermal undershirt, but Natasha could feel her heart beat a little faster. She bit her lip, and tried to slow her heartbeat. She pulled her shirt over her head, and put the sweater on.

Clint watched as Natasha took off her shirt. He didn't want to be pervy, but he couldn't help but stare. She was still wearing her black cotton tank top, but, _damn, _who knew shoulders could be so sexy? When she put the sweater on, she looked to him for approval, so he grinned and gave her a thumbs up, and pretended like he hadn't been checking her out. Having a crush on your best friend was hard.

"Um, so, wanna watch a movie?" he asked. She shrugged.

"Sure."

So they sat on the couch, drinking hot chocolate that Natasha had made, sitting in cozy sweaters, covered in blankets, and, well, cuddling. The movie ended, and Clint looked at Natasha, who was resting her head on his shoulder. _I love her, _he thought, and his mouth opened without warning.

"I love—I love—hanging out with you," he stammered. He hadn't meant to start to say that, the words had just come bursting out.

"I love hanging out with you, too," she said, and her smile was the prettiest thing he had ever seen. He wrapped his arm around her side, and she leaned in contentedly. They fell asleep in complete bliss.

The next morning, Clint woke up groggy and dazed. He blinked, trying to wake himself up. He turned to Natasha, but she wasn't there.

"Nat?" he called. Natasha walked into the room.

"Sorry, I—I just—" she pressed her lips together. "I had a nightmare—and I couldn't get back to sleep, and I was thinking, and—I'm sorry." Her cheeks looked moist, as if she had been crying.

"_I'm _sorry. If I did anything—are you okay?" He had been going to apologize if he had upset her, but as he had been saying it she seemed all the more broken, and he knew something was up. She swallowed and nodded. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing really. I just had a nightmare, you know, and I couldn't get back to sleep and I was thinking about… Well, my past, I guess, and the fact that most other Christmases had been horrible, and—I'm so happy I have you." And with that, she hugged him tightly. He hugged her back, gently stroking her hair.

"Oh, Stark texted me earlier. He wanted to know if we would come to his Christmas party," Natasha said into Clint's shoulder.

"_His _Christmas party? That'll be interesting…"

Clint and Natasha were met with a lot of flashing lights and girls in skimpy clothes when they walked into Stark Tower, which was exactly what they were expecting.

"Hey! Guys!" said Tony, walking over to them, Pepper in tow. Tony had texted them saying it was an ugly sweater party, so they were wearing their new sweaters.

"Tony.. You are aware that your sweater has reindeer humping all over it, right?" asked Clint, eying Tony's sweater with a mix of disgust and amusement.

"I know, I told him-" Pepper began, but was quickly cut off by Tony.

"Isn't it great?" Pepper rolled her eyes. "Hey! Mistletoe!" said Tony, pulling some mistletoe out of his pocket.

"He's been carrying this with him everywh-" Pepper was cut off by Tony kissing her passionately. Clint eyed Natasha, and they went to see what the other Avenges were doing. Everyone was wearing an ugly sweater, literally, everyone in Stark Tower was wearing one. Some people had crop-top sweaters, or sleeveless ones. (Some people meaning girls Tony had probably paid to attend.) Steve and Bucky were chatting and drinking punch(Which was most likely spiked, thanks to Tony). Bruce and Betty were chatting with some science-y S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and Jane was explaining the festivities to Thor.

Suddenly, mistletoe starting raining down on everyone.

"Merry Christmas everyone!" yelled Tony, "Kiss someone!" And this time, Pepper was the one to kiss Tony. Clint looked around, and all his fellow Avengers were kissing someone. Bucky and Steve were kissing, and Clint didn't remember them being a couple. He assumed it was their first kiss, which explained the passion. Bruce and Betty were kissing, as were Thor and Jane. If he wanted to kiss Natasha, now was the time. He turned to her, but before he could say or do anything, her lips were on his.

The Christmas party had finally ended, but the Avengers and their dates were still at Stark Tower. They had opened their presents, and the ground was covered in wrapping paper and spilled booze. Tony was passed out on the couch, and Pepper was playing with his hair. Steve and Bucky were chatting quietly, so quiet it sounded as if they were whispering. Jane was showing Thor how to use the iPhone that he had gotten as a present from Tony. Bruce and Betty were trying out the new lab Tony had built for them. Clint was lying on the floor, with a headache from drinking too much. Natasha lie next to him, and he smiled at her.

_"__Best Christmas ever," _he mouthed.


End file.
